Sunday, February 23, 2014

1988 Takara G1 Transformers Masterforce C-309 Godbomber

Here's a piece that my friend "M" had been on the hunt for quite some time and was finally able to track it down. It had eluded him in a prior eBay auction but like the old adage goes, "All good things come to those who wait."

Godbomber is a product of the super-science of the planet Master, created by theAutobots to serve as a personal power-up for their leader, Ginrai. Godbomber is merely a drone with no spark of his own, animated by Chōkon Power drawn from Ginrai himself and responding to the Autobot commander's emotions and needs. Godbomber is also equipped with cargo space to carry the Transtectors of the three Autobot Headmaster Juniors, who can drive the drone from his three-man cockpit and animate him by uniting their own Chōkon Power.

G1 Apeface, G2 Ramjet, G1 Canadian Scourge, Godbomber

This is the lot that Godbomber came with…..not exactly bad company to be included in.

This figure was not included with the USA release of Powermaster Prime.

The flap stands at attention

This guy certainly wasn't folded up and wrapped by someones parents for a Christmas present.

Classic (yet small) Masterforce box battle art, along with Godbomber and Ginrai in their various combinations

When the Decepticon super-weapon, BlackZarak began making his way towards Earth, the space-based Autobot army dispatched Grand Maximus to inform the Autobots under Metalhawk's command of the situation. Grand Maximus gave the Autobots on Earth the plans and materials necessary for the construction of Godbomber, which would endow Ginrai with the ability to fly and fight in space, thereby allowing him to stop BlackZarak before he reached Earth.

Ginrai wasted no time in merging with Godbomber into God Ginrai, and headed for the Moon to battle Overlord and BlackZarak.

Smarting after their defeat on the moon, Giga and Mega resolved to cripple Ginrai by destroying Godbomber, and lured the pair to a Middle-Eastern desert to do the deed. During the battle, Godbomber revealed the unexpected ability to transform into a robot mode, joining his firepower with Ginrai's to push Giga back. Mega soon arrived and the pair combined into Overlord, who created a whirling tornado of Chōkon-charged sand that swept Ginrai and Godbomber up, but the two Autobots quickly combined back into God Ginrai and defeated the villains

Godbomber subsequently spent almost all of the time combined with Ginrai, although when the Autobot commander ventured into the Decepticon base to rescue the captive Shūta, he separated from the drone so that they could split up to better search the complex. Godbomber happened upon Shūta in the clutches of King Poseidon, but was ordered by Ginrai to stand down for fear of Shūta's safety. When the Decepticon Headmaster Junior Cancer turned on his teammates and rescued Shūta, however, Godbomber sprang into action, finishing off the Seacon combiner and helping everyone get to safety before returning to Ginrai's side and recombining with him to defeat Overlord once more. God Ginrai: Showdown at the Decepticon Base
In the midst of a battle in the Grand Canyon, Godbomber battled a swarm of Seacons and Sparkdash drones alongside the Headmaster Juniors. When he sensed that Ginrai was in danger, the Juniors instructed him to go to the commander's aid, and Godbomber complied, racing to Ginrai's aid and combining with him to battle the powered-up Darkwings brothers. Battle to the Death!! God Ginrai VS Darkwings Reborn Godbomber was never seen to separate from Ginrai again, and was still connected to him when he defeated the Decepticon ruler Devil Z.

Whether he was still a drone, truly alive or whatever, Godbomber remained consistently combined with Ginrai for the duration of the war against Deathsaurus's Decepticons in 2025. When Ginrai was fatally wounded by the Emperor of Destruction and rebuilt into Victory Leo, so too was Godbomber.

Here's my calling card if you run into any trouble.

1 used sticker sheet

Here'a a portion of the instructions depicting Godbomber's transformation and combining process.

Godbomber was a limited release in 1988 to only 2000 pieces and released only in Japan.

Godbomber transforms into an armored trailer, composed of a collection of modular pieces. He does not so much transform as he does break apart—into two arms, two legs, two wings, a chest and a back—and recombine in a different configuration, with the only elements of transformation being his flip-out feet and head. He is armed in both modes with the God Cannon, which can either mount on his shoulder or be held in his fist in robot mode. Godbomber combines with the separately-sold Ginrai to form God Ginrai.

Godbomber is an Autobot drone from the Super-God Masterforce portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.

(394 × 310 pixels, file size: 56 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)

Godbomber "rolling out" on his own

Godbomber (Top View)

Godbomber (Rear shot)

Godbomber is composed of multiple component parts, which disassemble and reconfigure into his assorted modes. His components include (in the following order) :

"God Punch", God Breast", "God Legs", and the "God Breast" & "God Wings" which connect to Ginrai to transform him into God Ginrai. Godbomber and God Ginrai both wield the mighty God Cannon.

Technically, this is not even a Transformer since you actually take it apart and then rearrange it into robot mode. People like to use the term "Partsformer".

tfu.info

Godbomber (robot mode)

Complete set

This C-307 came from an eBay seller who was also selling Godbomber separately. The C-307 was won but Godbomber auction was outbid on….until he was finally secured over a year later.

Godbomber by himself (other than having one of the best TF names ever) is unfortunately a rather boring figure with very limited articulation to go along with what's technically a "zero transformation" factor. His real play factor only comes with his combination with Ginrai. His trailer extension mode really gives meaning tho the word "Convoy", and when joining into God Ginrai, his chrome and extra parts really add to the overall height and bulkiness of the figure.

Originally, Godbomber's limited number run and foreign release inflated his value and put him out of reach to most collectors. While his reissue in the 2002 God Ginrai giftset allowed both figures to be purchased at a much lower combined value, it also dramatically deflated the original price tag that the exclusive few had paid for the originals.

I so need to finish the Masterforce series. I've only watched the 1st disc. I'm not a big fan of Godbomber. I got him when Takara reissued him years ago with Prime. You know, the one that everyone still has for sale really cheap. I generally just keep him attached to Prime's super mode. Still, I love the box art, for him. It's like Jack Kirby drew it.

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